By Francesca Landini
MILAN, Feb 5 (Reuters) – U.S. short track speed skater Kristen Santos-Griswold is ready for the Milano Cortina Olympics after working hard to recover mentally from a disappointing finish at the Beijing Games four years ago when she fell after a collision and came fourth.
The Connecticut-born skater, who won the 1,000 metres world title in 2024, narrowly missed out on a medal in the distance at the 2022 Olympics. Santos fell after Italy’s Arianna Fontana lost her balance and made contact with the American.
Fontana was eventually disqualified for the incident, handing Santos fourth place.
“It actually wasn’t until the past year that I watched that race back for the first time,” Santos-Griswold told a news conference with her teammates in Milan.
She said it had been difficult to watch the Beijing race, but added that she now felt better prepared than she was then, when a cautious approach cost her a place on the podium.
“Feeling comfortable as I was in medal position … I was content being in third. Instead of going out there and racing for gold I was like … ‘I have got a medal in my hand, let’s play it safe’ but that obviously didn’t work for me,” she said.
The 31-year-old Santos-Griswold said she was entering the Milano Cortina Games with a different mindset and intended to fight for the top step of the podium.
“I really want to go and make sure I leave every race feeling I gave it my all and I did absolutely all that I could,” she said.
(Reporting by Francesca Landini; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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